A Parent-Partner Status for American Family Law [Hardcover]

This book proposes a new 'parent-partner' legal status emphasizing obligations of parents to each other and to their children.This book argues that marriage and other legal structures governing parental relationships are outdated and unrepresentative of the reality of American parenting. It recommends the creation of a new parent-partner legal status to encourage supportive partnerships and discourage reproduction among uncommitted couples.This book argues that marriage and other legal structures governing parental relationships are outdated and unrepresentative of the reality of American parenting. It recommends the creation of a new parent-partner legal status to encourage supportive partnerships and discourage reproduction among uncommitted couples.Despite the fact that becoming a parent is a pivotal event, the birth or adoption of a child has little significance for parents' legal relationship to each other. Instead, the law relies upon marriage, domestic partnerships, and contracts to set the parameters of parents' legal relationship. With over forty percent of American children born to unwed mothers and consistently high rates of divorce, this book argues that the law's current approach to regulating parental relationships is outdated. A new legal and social structure is needed to guide parents so they act as supportive partners and to deter uncommitted couples from having children. This book is the first of its kind to propose a new parent-partner status within family law. Included are a detailed discussion of the benefits of the status as well as specific recommendations for legal obligations.1. The disconnect between the facts and the law; 2. The absence of the 'parent-partner' status; 3. The inadequacy of existing constructs; 4. Reform efforts: slowly moving forward; 5. The new status in theoretical perspective; 6. The benefits of the new status for children; 7. The benefits of the new status for the community; 8. Ambitions for the new status; 9. Newlc